Wolves v Birmingham City - Bill Howell's FA Cup match report

THE Cup kings are at it again. Different team, same old story, rubbing it in the noses of the lofty and richer.

It didn’t make up for that final day in May. It could never do that.

But Wade Elliott’s late winner after 164 minutes of deadlock tasted as sweet as a nut.

Unbeaten in seven matches and with a defence tighter than Fagin from Oliver Twist, Blues will head to Sheffield United smelling another long road to Wembley.

Fresh from their biggest away win in 14 years, momentum is with Blues, who have the scent of the play-offs very much within their nostrils.

They may be creaking from time to time under the strain of matches – they will face Watford on Saturday in their 37th match of the season – but there was no doubt here they deserved this.

Mick McCarthy effectively paid the price for picking ten reserves. But even with golden boy Steven Fletcher on the pitch, they couldn’t grab a goal in the tie.

Although it took yet another sublime double save right at the death from Colin Doyle, just like as at St Andrew’s, Blues prevailed.

Just like the opening fence at the Grand National, effectively no more than long twigs stuck together with sellotape, Wolves always get over the first hurdle in the FA Cup and invariably fall at the second.

In the past 19 seasons since the onset of the Premier League they have made the fourth round in all but two seasons, beaten only by Gillingham in 2002 and Portsmouth in 1997.

But it was Blues who earned the 80-mile journey up the M1 to Bramall Lane a week on Saturday. Even with 2,300 away fans, the game was played in front of the lowest attendance between these two, besides the Anglo-Italian Cup, since 8,000 showed up for a First World War fixture 97 years ago.

By contrast, 28,088 saw Steve Bull and Darren Ferguson put Wolves through against Blues in a third-round Molineux replay in 1996.

Bull was here too. And he took great delight in showing Chiles his Tesco carrier bag for the cameras.

Wolves began brightly enough with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake almost heading an opener from a fine right-wing cross by Adam Hammill. The striker rose well but, under pressure from Steven Caldwell, nodded inches wide.

Wolves again threatened when Hammill sent the impressive Matt Doherty racing into the box but the Irishman’s centre was struck with far too much venom and Ebanks-Blake couldn’t quite get the connection.

If there was any doubt Blues were up for a battle it was dispelled when David Murphy clattered into Jean Beausejour as the pair challenged for a headed clearance. Both needed stitches to head wounds.

Murphy, with blood gushing from a cut to his forehead, disappeared straight down the tunnel.

Beausejour required three minutes of treatment and then groggily followed his team-mate. It was tough on Blues, who were down to nine men for 80 seconds before Murphy cantered back on.

Incredibly, the ten men could have been awarded a 33rd-minute penalty.

A calamitous error from skipper Christophe Berra sent Adam Rooney clean through. Berra had missed a straightforward header after Murphy hacked the ball into the air away from Kevin Doyle’s toes. Rooney dallied after taking a touch before George Elokobi clattered into his side.

Seven minutes and 14 seconds after starting his treatment Beausejour emerged and won a free-kick from which Blues almost netted.

Jordon Mutch flighted the set-piece goalwards and Curtis Davies sent a header on target, which was clawed, rather unconvincingly, two-handed around his left-post by Dorus de Vries.

Jonathan Spector was inches away from a sensational opener in first-half stoppage time when he sent a vicious low drive from 25 yards arrowing agonisingly wide of the far corner.

At the other end, Caldwell took the sting out of a fierce Doherty shot from 25 yards, which bounced into Doyle’s arms.

The linesman flagged Nenad Milijas, quite wrongly, offside when he attempted to nod past Doyle after Ebanks-Blake had sent Caldwell sprawling on the byline.

Doyle got in the way of Hammill’s shot as Wolves fleetingly threatened midway through the half.

The ball broke to Icelander Eggert Jonsson, who drilled a superb long-range shot on target that Doyle did well to hold.

It was Jonsson’s last taste of the action as he was replaced by Adlene Guedioura, who announced his arrival on the stage with a blistering diagonal shot that wasn’t far away from the top right-hand corner of the net.

Fletcher arrived on the scene on 72 minutes for Doyle who again looked out of sorts. His arrival fired up Blues who produced a terrific break with Redmond releasing Beausejour whose cross was almost turned into his own net by Elokobi.

From Mutch’s corner came the goal. Elliott hit the post, Murphy bundled the ball goalwards and Elliott swivelled to net whilst on the floor.

There was still time for de Vries to save superbly from Beausejour from Chris Burke’s pass. Then Doyle saved bravely at Fletcher’s feet and as the ball spooned up to Stephen Hunt he tipped the Irish winger’s shot over the crossbar.